Owner Review: Rather pricey maintenance, rather comfortable ride - My Volkswagen Polo Sedan 1.6 MPI

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Basic information

2015 Volkswagen Polo Sedan 1.6 MPI

Reasons why I bought this car

1. Solid car built.
2. Cheapest continental car in the market at that time
3. Need to travel a long distance to the workplace every week.

Car selection

• I had a budget of RM80,000
• Models that I have considered include: Toyota Vios, Honda City, Mazda 2
• Reasons why I chose this car:

1. Branding of the car
2. Good handling and body chassis
3. Perceived safety of continental make

User experience

• I have already done 110,000 km.

First few years of ownership is rather positive ones. As one of the reasons I bought this car is due to the continental brand, any negative sides of the car can be easily forgiven. The car is able to fulfil the desire of owning a continental car and holding the smooth leather-wrapped steering wheel gave me a lot of satisfaction from my previous ride, which is a Perodua Myvi. It definitely feels like an upgrade. Solid 'thud' sound when closing the door, the feeling when closing the boot, red-illuminated window switch at each door, solid tactile feel of the buttons on the steering wheel and infotainment system are all the things that make this car feels continental and a 'class-above' (as how I feel) compared to other Japanese make. Except for Mazda 2.

The car offers a good handling around corners, rather comfortable drive and has the hefty continental car feeling to it although it is just a compact B segment car. High-speed cruising was rather comfortable and the suspension tuning is able to make the car feels heavy on the highway. In city drive, I feel the suspension tuning is on the soft side where the body rolls and twitch quite a lot when going through some corners and speed bumps, which I frequently bottom-up through some higher bumps.

After some extensive driving, started to notice that the gearbox logic is on the more conservative side, which it tends to upshift whenever possible in D. Switching to S does prolong the gear holding, but the engine noise will be quite loud when revving pass 2500rpm, which is quite annoying. Overtaking cars in tight B-roads can be quite challenging as I need to prepare early and make time for the gear to downshifts, which take ages. Switching to manual mode does help a bit, but the engine does grunt a lot when I am driving over 3000rpm, giving the impression I am stressing out the engine. Nope, it is not a rev-happy car at the end of the day.

Maintenance cost is rather expensive for a simple drivetrain combination of 1.6L MPI engine with Aisin 6 speed torque converter automatic. Minor service (Every year / 15000km) can cost up to RM 800 and Major service (every 2 years / 30000km) can cost up to RM 2500. 

Throughout the 5 years of ownership, had replaced the front headlamps (Foggy), air cond compressor, speed sensors and steering rack under the warranty program. Other than that is just routine wear and tear.

Overall, it is a solid car with a simple drivetrain. It is a 'go to pasar' car with a continental brand. Good handling and chassis but lacks traditional VW famous DSG and TSI excitement.

Pros & Cons

Pros

1. Solid handling
2. Good chassis
3. Continental feel
4. Rather comfortable ride

Cons

1. Simple drivetrain
2. Less exciting to drive compared to other VW
3. Very slow pickup
4. Rather pricey maintenance

Ratings

Total Score: 3
Performance: 2
Quality & Features: 3
Space: 2
Ride Comfort: 4
Fuel Economy: 3
Price & Cost 4

Summary

VW polo 1.6: 'More' reliable, less excitement

Lastly, anything to add?

As a frequent highway user, had a couple of near misses but the stability of the car and the good braking offered by the standard brake saves me from all of them. Rather confident with the safety and stability of the car although it has no ESC equipped.